Airplane toy



FIG.|.

x R E 0 N TM R N6 m W T mw 7 A 0 A B United States Patent AIRPLANE TOY Ira Orval Smith, Overland, Mo.

Application February 9, 1953, Serial No. 335,667

1 Claim. (CI. 46-77) This invention relates to improvements in toys and more specifically to airplanes, and has among its objects the production of such toys that will be extremely interesting and attractive to users, will operate to simulate the actual flight of an airplane, will be neat and economical in its construction, easy to install, safe to operate, and which will otherwise be satisfactory and efiicient for use wherever deemed applicable.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to so construct such a mechanism that it will be guided at all times during the flight of the airplane, within a predetermined path of travel, permitting of movement of the airplane vertically as well as horizontally, within said path.

Another object of my invention is to so construct such a device that it has a motor-driven propeller for actuating the airplane, with the lead wires that energize said motor slidably engaging a pair of current-carrying conductors that serve the added and very important purpose of suspending the airplane during the operation of the latter.

An added object of my invention is to so construct said device, that the airplane is readily detachably mounted into operative position supported by said electrical conductors.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described, and the uses mentioned, will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, and as will be more clearly disclosed herein.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a top plan view, illustrating the device adapted to travel forwardly and make a loop-the-loop during its travel;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device, showing the manner of energizing its propeller; and

Figure 4 is a detail section, showing the detachable connection between the combination electrical conductor and support and the adjacent side of the airplane.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, A indicates a toy made into the form of any desired type and suitable size of airplane, and of any preferred material, such as of plastic or the like, and adapted to have rotatably mounted thereon the rotary propeller 1, so that proper rotation of the latter, while the air- 51311116 is suspended will actuate the latter to simulate ig t.

An electric motor that is sufficiently small, but powerful enough for this objective, is drivingly connected to said propeller, said motor 2, preferably being mounted within the airplane so as to be concealed within its body and not detract from the appearance of the device.

A pair of lead wires 33 lead from said motor laterally to both sides of the airplane, the outer terminals of said wires preferably formed with spring clips 4 for a purpose about to be described. These clips may be of suitably strong material, as of spring metal formed with the pair of yieldably interconnected legs 55.

In order to enable said airplane to travel horizontally and make vertical deviations in any predetermined plan or path, to thereby enable the user to feel that he is playing with an actual airplane and not merely a movable object that travels along the ground, I have arranged a pair of laterally spaced apart electrical conductors 6-6 to extend along the path of travel desired, say In the loop-the-loop arrangement indicated.

These conductors are of a thickness and shape to be yieldably received between the pair of legs 55 of the spring clips, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 4, and it is obvious that when said conductors are carrying electricity, the motor will be thereby energized to'rotate the propeller and propel the airplane. Not only do these conductors act to provide the source of current for operating the device, but they act additionally as lateral supports to suspend the airplane and provide side guides for the latter during its predetermined path of travel. Hence, such conductors are generally made strong enough to serve as supports, as well as merely being current conductors.

It is obvious that it is possible to set up a device of this kind, to emulate many conditions of flight, including the looped arrangement indicated, and this will add greatly to the enjoyment 'of using the device.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction and combination herein shown and described, except as limited by the state of the art to which this invention appertains, and by the claim as hereunto appended.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a mechanism of the kind described and in combination, a toy airplane adapted to travel along a predetermined path of variable height, a propeller rotatably mounted thereon for propelling the same, an electric motor within said airplane and drivingly connected to said propeller, lead wires extending from said motor to the opposite sides of said airplane and terminating at their outer ends in spring open-ended clips, and a pair of electrical conductors extending spaced apart along said predetermined path of variable-height travel of the airplane and being detachably yieldably releasably received within said clips and slidably engageable with said clips to conduct current to said lead wires and being sufficiently strong to suspend said airplane while the latter is in its operative movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,397,135 Malouf Nov. 15, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,738 Great Britain 1908 909,611 Great Britain Ian. 4, 1946 

